Drip catcher

ABSTRACT

The invention catches the drops shed by a standing man urinating into a toilet, thereby keeping the floor dry for subsequent users who want to sit and drop their clothes. This is accomplished by automatically extending a shield covered with a disposable absorbent pad, when the seat is raised. The shield is automatically stowed out of the way when the seat is lowered.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Previously filed as Provisional Application 67/766,923, filing date:Nov. 13, 2018

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

n/a

BACKGROUND 1. Field of Invention

The invention relates to the field of appurtenances or attachments totoilets to improve the hygiene of their use.

2. Problem Solved

A common problem when a standing man urinates into a toilet is thatoften a few drops land on the floor in front of the toilet, making thefloor wet. In addition, drops may spatter out of the toilet. This makesit unpleasant for subsequent users who want to sit down, in that theymust endeavor to keep their clothes off the floor, and for users who arebarefoot. It also poses a slipping hazard. This is a problem in bothpublic and residential bathrooms.

3. Related Art

The prior art consists of absorbent pads laid on the floor, which keepthe floor dry, but do not solve all the problems for subsequent users.

SUMMARY

The invention consists of a shield to intercept the drops and amechanism for automatically deploying it when the seat is raised, andautomatically stowing it out of the way when the seat is lowered.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

1. In a preferred embodiment, a disposable absorbent pad is attached bysuitable means which may be an adhesive, to a shield, which may becrescent-shaped or another shape, which is attached to a more or lessvertical support member, which is attached to the toilet, such as byhooking it over the rim of the toilet bowl, typically in front. Theshield is arranged to pivot about an axis a small distance in front ofthe support member, and has a tail which extends a small distance beyondthe axis. For example, the support member may have two or more earsprotruding forward which are attached to mating ears on the shield byrivets or other fasteners, about which the shield pivots. The shield,instead of being flat, may be curved so as to protrude as little aspossible from the toilet in the stowed position.

2. An actuating member which is arranged to slide vertically along thesupport member extends over the rim of the toilet bowl so that it ispressed down when the seat is lowered and is returned by a spring whenthe seat is raised. The top of the actuating member may have earsextending sideways so that it will be actuated even by a seat which hasa gap in front. The bottom end of the actuating member is connected tothe tail of the shield so that the shield is raised to a more or lessvertical position when the seat is lowered and extended in a more orless horizontal position when the seat is raised. To accommodate themotion of the shield tail, the connection between the actuating memberand the tail may take the form of a link hinged at both ends or of aflexible portion of the actuating member hinged only at the bottom end.

3. The sliding motion of the actuating member may be accommodated, forexample, by having part of the edges of the support member bent forwardand inward so as to captivate the actuating member or, alternatively, byhaving the edges of the actuating member captivate the support member ina like manner or, alternatively, by having a slot in one of thesemembers to accommodate rivets attached to the other member.

4. Alternatively, the shield can be folded downward to a more or lessvertical position when the seat is lowered. But in this case thesubsequent user may need to change the pad first.

5. The shield does not need to have edges but can be flat because thepad is intended to absorb the liquid. The adhesive can be part of thedisposable pad and should be pressure-sensitive, so that the pad can bereplaced easily. The pad may have one or more strings, tabs, loops, orthe like, to facilitate its replacement.

6. I envision that the device, when sold, be easily adaptable by thepurchaser to different shapes of toilets. To this end, the shield mayinitially be flat. Likewise, the vertical support member may initiallylack the final bend into the toilet bowl.

7. While what has been described is a preferred embodiment, it should beapparent to anyone skilled in the art that many and varied modificationsmay be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:
 1. A shield which may be crescent-shaped or another shape,which is automatically deployed when a toilet seat is raised, tointercept drops of urine shed by a standing man urinating, or dropsspattered out of the toilet, for the purpose of keeping the floor infront of the toilet dry, and which is automatically stowed out of theway when the seat is lowered, and which may be flat or may be curved soas to protrude as little as possible from the toilet in the stowedposition.
 2. A shield as in claim 1 which is substantially covered by anabsorbent pad, which may be disposable.
 3. A shield as in claim 2 inwhich said pad is furnished with a pressure-sensitive adhesive on oneside for easy attachment to and removal from the shield, and may befurnished with one or more strings, tabs, loops, or the like tofacilitate its replacement.
 4. A mechanism for automatically deploying ashield which may be crescent-shaped or another shape, to intercept dropsof urine shed by a standing man urinating, or drops spattered out of thetoilet, for the purpose of keeping the floor in front of the toilet dry,and automatically stowing it out of the way when the seat is lowered,which shield may be flat or may be curved so as to protrude as little aspossible from the toilet in the stowed position.
 5. A mechanism as inclaim 4 in which the shield is substantially covered by an absorbentpad, which may be disposable.
 6. A mechanism as in claim 5 in which saidpad is furnished with a pressure-sensitive adhesive on one side for easyattachment to and removal from the shield, and may be furnished with oneor more strings, tabs, loops, or the like to facilitate its replacement.7. A mechanism as in claim 6 in which said shield is attached to a moreor less vertical support member, which is attached to the toilet, suchas by hooking it over the rim of the toilet bowl, typically in front. 8.A mechanism as in claim 7 in which said shield is arranged to pivotabout an axis a small distance in front of the support member by, forexample, having two or more ears which are attached to mating earsprotruding forward from the support member by rivets or other fastenersabout which the shield pivots, and said shield having a tail whichextends a small distance beyond the axis.
 9. A mechanism as in claim 8in which an actuating member is arranged to slide vertically along thesupport member and in which said actuating member extends over the rimof the toilet bowl, so that it is pressed down when the seat is loweredand returned by a spring when the seat is raised, said actuating memberhaving provision for overtravel to accommodate differing toilet seatheights. and the top of said actuating member having ears extendingsideways so that it will be actuated even by a seat which has a gap infront, and the bottom end of said actuating member being connected tothe tail of the shield so that the shield is raised to a more or lessvertical position when the seat is lowered, and extended in a more orless horizontal position when the seat is raised, the motion of saidshield tail being accommodated by having the connection between theactuating member and the tail take the form of a link hinged at bothends, or of a flexible portion of the actuating member hinged only atthe bottom end.
 10. A mechanism as in claim 9 whose sliding motion isaccommodated by having part of the edges of the support member bentforward and inward, so as to captivate the actuating member or,alternatively, by having the edges of the actuating member captivate thesupport member in a like manner or, alternatively, by having a slot inone of these members to accommodate rivets attached to the other member,or, alternatively, by another method.
 11. A mechanism as in claim 7 inwhich said shield is arranged to pivot about an axis on the supportmember.
 12. A mechanism as in claim 11 in which an actuating member isarranged to slide vertically along the support member and in which saidactuating member extends over the rim of the toilet bowl, so that it ispressed down when the seat is lowered and returned by a spring when theseat is raised, said actuating member having provision for overtravel toaccommodate differing toilet seat heights. and the top of said actuatingmember having ears extending sideways so that it will be actuated evenby a seat which has a gap in front, and the bottom end of said actuatingmember being connected to the shield so that the shield is tilteddownward to a more or less vertical position when the seat is loweredand extended in a more or less horizontal position when the seat israised, the motion of said shield being accommodated by having theconnection between the actuating member and the shield take the form ofa link hinged at both ends, or of a flexible portion of the actuatingmember hinged only at the bottom end.
 13. A mechanism as in claim 12whose sliding motion is accommodated by having part of the edges of thesupport member bent forward and inward, so as to captivate the actuatingmember or, alternatively, by having the edges of the actuating membercaptivate the support member in a like manner or, alternatively, byhaving a slot in one of these members to accommodate rivets attached tothe other member, or, alternatively, by another method.